


A Little Surprise

by superpunchygirl



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Cloti - Freeform, F/M, FHSecretSanta2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:47:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21932446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superpunchygirl/pseuds/superpunchygirl
Summary: Edge was approaching it’s first official holiday. After a full year of peace and restoration, they deserved that much.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife
Comments: 5
Kudos: 23
Collections: Final Heaven: Secret Santa 2019!





	A Little Surprise

Gloomy – that’s how it had always been in Midgar, even since they began to rebuild it as Edge. Even after the calamity and chaos, they dealt with homelessness and disease. The return of Sephiroth. Despite it all, seeing Cloud smile in the end was worth everything to Tifa.

She tried not to let the fact that they continued with their day in and day out jobs like ‘normal’ people bothered her. No matter what she did for the people she brought happiness to, and the children who constantly wanted her attention and care… she felt like she wasn’t doing enough for any of them.

Edge was approaching it’s first official holiday. After a full year of peace and restoration, they deserved that much.

The plan for the day was to take time off of work and to spend that time with loved ones. Tifa kept her bar opened all day, despite the no working rule. She wanted to give home-cooked meals to everyone that she could. While she had those she considered her immediate family, the residents that she grew to know and love had a special place in her heart and it brought her joy to give to them as well.

During that time, Denzel and Marlene helped Tifa with her work too. She was like a mother to them in her own ways, and they had fun learning new cooking techniques from her.

It was unanimously decided among the town that there would be fireworks later in the night when even Tifa was forced to close up shop. While she was busy preparing her final meal of the evening, she wondered where Cloud had gotten off to. In the morning he’d been around to help her decorate the bar to make it more festive, but he claimed he had an important delivery half-way through and was nowhere to be found since then. She trusted him completely, but that small anxiety in her wondered if he was coming back or if something had happened to him.

She frowned and started to stare off into the distance, lost in her thoughts. Denzel had to rush to grab a pot that nearly boiled over while she was distracted, which made Marlene laugh.

“Oh! Sorry Denzel,” she apologized, with a soft smile. She turned down the heat and was glad he remembered to wear oven mitts this time. He’d gotten burned before trying to grab things he shouldn't without the proper protection. Still, he begged to help her out and she always caved.

She helped Denzel lift the pot onto a safe spot while Marlene started to set up some of the side dishes.

“I can't wait for the fireworks!” she exclaimed in glee, as she masterfully garnished the rice. This made Tifa’s heart soar, she was excited too. She couldn’t help but think back to when she watched the fireworks years ago with Cloud in the small Gondola. Back then, she couldn't say her feelings and even to this day she had trouble with it, though shed improved since then.

“Ready everyone?” Tifa asked them. It was a resounding: “YEAH!!!”

The three of them served up all that they had made to their very last customers, enjoying the smiles and the laughter. Tifa refilled the drinks one last time – and cutoff where she needed to. She refused to charge anyone for the day, but her tip jar was overflowing. When it was time to say goodbye, the kids convinced her to save the cleaning for later and she sent them upstairs to get ready for the fireworks. She liked the idea of dressing up for the event.

Tifa went to her room and went through her closet. It had been a long time since she dressed up for any occasion. The thought made her a little sad, but a little excited at the same time. As soon as she picked out an outfit, she turned quickly to the sound of her phone ringing. Before checking to see who it was at all, she answered and asked for Cloud. A smile spread to her face as she heard his voice on the other line apologizing for being late. He knew how much that bugged her.

“ _I’ve got a surprise for you. See you when I get home.”_

The other line disconnected before she could reply. She noticed her heart-beat had picked up significantly since then, and she couldn’t help but giggle a little bit like a schoolgirl in the comfort of her room. She blushed at her attitude after a moment and hurried to get changed.

She chose a simple but nice pale blue dress, a color she had been attached to since childhood. It was her mother’s favorite shade. She dusted off a box of earrings made of silver, with crescent moon charms hanging from a small chain.

Since Aerith couldn’t be there to celebrate with them, Tifa decided to fix her hair into a loose braid to hang over her shoulder, fastening it at the bottom with a pink tie. She wasn’t one to wear heavy make-up, but she thought a more noticeable shade of lipstick might look nice just for tonight and tried her luck with it.

Once she was satisfied with her look in the mirror she went downstairs to meet Denzel and Marlene and wait for Cloud. For some reason, she felt nervous, which was silly to her. When the door opened, at last, Cloud came in holding a box quite protectively. It looked like he’d just then grabbed one from outside. Denzel and Marlene ran up to him, and he smiled a bit.

“You two look nice,” he said, and then let his eyes lift and look past them to Tifa. “And so do you.” Tifa told him to hush as she got up and walked over to where he was.

“Well I’m just curious about you’re little surp--”

She was cut off by tiny mewling from inside of the box. Cloud realized the jig was up and opened the box to reveal a small, grey and white kitten. He set the box down for the excited children and told them to be careful because the kitten was a little finicky.

“I guess that explains this,” Tifa said, as she tenderly brushed her thumb against a tiny scratch mark on the right side of his face.

“Yeah, I’m not the best at giving gifts. Or surprises.” He sighed in aggravation at himself, but Tifa pulled him into a soft hug. The kids were so happy at their feet, and she was so happy in his arms.

"The kitten is perfect,” she said and pulled from the hug. “And don’t act like you don’t know how much I love animals, and how much I’ve been bringing up having a pet.” She laughed when Cloud started acting all bashful at her words.

“Can the kitten come to see the fireworks?” Denzel asked, looking up at the two of them with hopeful eyes. Tifa looked pensive since loud noises might not be the best setting for a small animal. It was hard to refuse Denzel when he was being good, though.

“Well… okay. If we watch from a distance it shouldn’t cause any harm.” Denzel was pleased with her answer and carefully lifted the box, as Marlene opened the door for them.

“You know… I’m starting to wonder if this is more of my gift or theirs,” Tifa said, and chuckled softly. Cloud smiled and took her hand as they followed the kids outside. They decided to walk away from the bar, but before they got too far the fireworks started.

The dark sky exploded with bright colors and loud noises. Not far enough from the sound, the kitten was startled and leaped from the box, running a short way away and climbing up a tall pile of scrapped metals. The group rushed to follow it, and Tifa had to hold Denzel back from trying to climb up the pile himself to get it.

“Don’t worry,” Cloud said to Denzel. “We bonded on our journey back here. Getting him down shouldn’t be too hard.” It was a comical event to see Cloud attempting to reach for the kitten and coerce it out of hiding by making little noises and calling it ‘buddy’.

Eventually, Tifa decided to try and help and came up beside Cloud, starting to make some noises of her own. As soon as she did, the kitten lept down into her arms. She held onto it carefully and felt it purring against her body.

“Really? After all, we’ve been through?!” Cloud asked it, and the other three laughed, illuminated by the colors from the sky.

"Hey... What should we name him?” Tifa asked Cloud, who shook his head. “Maybe traitor, or something like that...” He joked.

“Well… that can be our next big decision,” she grinned.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy! I don't feel I'm good at writing fluff, but I really tried my best. OTL 
> 
> I tried to follow the FFVII COMPILATION time-line, and I was a bit hazy on it so please forgive any small inaccuracies there. 
> 
> Oh and MERRY CHRISTMAS ♥♥♥


End file.
